A council is calling in a Government consultant to keep down the spiralling costs of helping the homeless.

The bill for Arun District Council has doubled in the past year to almost £400,000.

The council said the cost was having such a significant impact on its financial strategy, services could be cut or council tax increased to fund the rise.

Yesterday, as ruling Cabinet members prepared to vote on whether to spend £15,000 to employ outside consultants to look at money-saving measures, officers revealed a Government consultant had agreed to visit.

The housing expert, from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, will visit Arun District Council in the next three weeks to establish what money can be saved.

Les Goodwin, Arun's head of housing policy, said: "He will have discussions with senior members and staff and frontline staff and will prepare an action plan.

"That study will look at all aspects of homelessness in terms of demand and supply and how we use private sector accommodation. He will also be able to advise us how we compare with other local authorities."

Councillors said the current measures to find accommodation for homeless people was a drain on the council's resources.

They were told that in spite of measures taken, expenditure on the homeless was showing no sign of abating.

Officers said from April 2000 to December 2002, more than £790,000 had been spent on bed-and- breakfast accommodation for homeless people, of which only about a third had been recovered through housing benefit.

They estimated that net expenditure for the current financial year was expected to reach £389,000, an increase of 60 per cent on 2001/02, which was itself more than double the previous year's figure.

Coun Oliver Wingrove said: "It has the feel of a problem that won't go away. We need to be prepared for it."

Coun Roger Elkins said: "I think it's staggering. We need to take the necessary action quickly.

"We have an obligation to the homeless but we have to manage it in the best way we can."